A unified first order hyperbolic model for nonlinear dynamic rupture processes in diffuse fracture zones

Earthquake fault zones are more complex, both geometrically and rheologically, than an idealised infinitely thin plane embedded in linear elastic material. Field and laboratory measurements reveal complex fault zone structure involving tensile and shear fractures spanning a wide spectrum of length scales (e.g., Mitchell & Faulkner, 2009), dense seismic and geodetic recording of small and large earthquakes show hierarchical volumetric faulting patterns (e.g., Cheng et al., 2018, Ross et al., 2019) and 2D numerical models explicitly accounting for off-fault fractures demonstrate important feedback with rupture dynamics and ground motions (e.g., Thomas & Bhat 2018, Okubo et al., 2019).